You might say there is a lot at stake in this year’s general election . . . serious issues, social issues, democratic issues. But whatever your concerns, it never hurts to take a step back and find a happy place, where at least for a couple of hours you can laugh at politicians of all stripes and find humor in their foibles.
You’ll find a perfect place to do just that in By the Sea Productions’ latest show, a really funny send-up of just what the business of politics seems to have become: a race to see who will make the next faux pas or make the most outrageous statement . . . and win.
Tim Linzey, whose elastic features and perfectly timed reactions produce many of the laughs in The Outsider, plays Ned Newley, the newly-sworn-in governor of an unnamed state. He wasn’t elected governor—he was a nobody (the lieutenant governor, of course) when his predecessor gets hounded out of office because of a scandal (which in this day and age would not be a foregone conclusion . . . but the plot points in this show are as unpredictable as the American electorate).
Anyway, playwright Paul Slade Smith has surrounded Ned with a bunch of political operatives, all straining to make the best of the fact that Ned is a policy wonk who knows his stuff but isn’t slick enough to articulate his way out of a paper bag.
Two other characters have a profound effect on the outcome of a debate over whether Ned will thwart those who want to see him ousted: Louise, Ned’s temporary “executive assistant” who seems not to understand her role, and A.C., a man of few words who at a crucial moment opens up to express what many working class people are actually thinking.
Jenny Beck as Louise and Samvel Gottlieb as A.C. are flawless in their roles as catalysts to the action. That isn’t to say the rest of the cast isn’t top-notch as well: Randy Brennan as a pollster is whip-smart perfect, and Alex Munoz as Ned’s chief of staff plays harried, worried, competent, ethical, and filled with fear all at once. Tom Ammon and Tina Leonard as pros who’ve seen it all in politics both come across as pros on stage.
Director Hank Wethington and his assistant, Madison Wethington, handle the absurdity of The Outsider’s situations with aplomb and steady hands. The show runs a bit long at over two hours, but every minute is packed with observations and conundrums and surprises that elicit many a giggle (and a chuckle, and even a snicker or twenty) from an audience who must be relieved to find a socially-approved way to laugh outright at the antics of our government officials (and those who want to be).
And how ridiculous is it that even someone who is totally clueless (spoiler alert—it’s not Ned) can find a path to power?
So put down your mail-in ballot for an evening, forget about the real world, and take in The Outsider, an entertaining jaunt into the state of American politics. Inside its antics, there is a grain of truth that may make you stop and think before you fill in those ovals as the election countdown begins.
The show runs through October 27.